BookshelfMonstrosity: In these character-driven and intricately plotted psychological suspense stories, seemingly devoted husbands become prime suspects in their wives' disappearances. As investigations unfold, disturbing secrets are unearthed -- casting both couples' relationships in a new and unsettling light.… (more)

BookshelfMonstrosity: Dark, disturbing secrets belie seemingly perfect marriages in these fast-paced, compelling psychological suspense novels, which unfold from multiple perspectives. In each, the narrator searches for a missing spouse who may not be the person they thought they knew.… (more)

claudiemae: I really enjoyed this book,my first read by this author. I got "Gone Girl,because i like how this author writes.But,I did not like "Gone Girl',really,was this written by Gillian Flynn? I was dissapointed,and hope she can do better with her next one,she does have talent.… (more)

Moomin_Mama: Both books are page-turners that are full of dark humour with underlying commentaries on the modern media, marriage and class. Both have extremely flawed characters who are not easy to sympathise with but that is all part of the fun.

I didn't like the ending. Not because Amy didn't get punished, or because Nick stayed with her but because of the classic line!!Every "good guy" says that line to the "evil guy".It was so disappointing. A bad person or a psycho like Amy will not feel regret or remorse because she's evil. she thinks that's the way to be. She doesn't know anything else. That's exactely what makes her "evil" so it was so pointless. It would have had more impact if he said he loved her, because we know he doesn't really.

But ultimately, it was a good read. It's the first time I read a suspens novel, and I liked it very much. I liked how they illustrated how people tend to believe appearances, and not care for the truth sometimes because it's more convinient. ( )

Overall, I found this disappointing. I was ready to drop it about one third of the way through. I found the main characters shallow, self-absorbed and annoying. And the story itself was not very interesting. I decided to keep going, hoping the reviews were correct and the story would become interesting. And it did, very much so. However, the main characters became even more unlikable and irritating. Finally, I found the ending very weak. After all that they have gone through in the book, the characters are just the same self-absorbed people they always were. If anything, they are even more unlikable.

Wow. Just wow. That was my initial thoughts on this book and how it all played out. The author did a fantastic job at creating Amy, an incredibly well done, manipulative character. I was shocked at just how the author managed to make Amy so convincing in the first section of the book. Even knowing Amy was a nut job, as I read the book (again, just in that first section) I did find myself liking her more than Nick. As for Nick, he's a jackass, I never thought he murdered his wife, but I always thought he was a jackass. Once I finished the book a spineless, stupid jackass, but if you want to find out the reasons behind that, you'll have to read the book for yourself. As for Amy, She was, despite being a sociopath, an enjoyable character to read - I wouldn't say she was likeable, not once her true identity was revealed. But, she was a character who had me entranced and I couldn't put the book down because I had to know what would happen with the plot and what she'd do next.

What I liked about the book the most, was how detailed the author was on how, what and why Amy did what she did. It was outstanding how well everything played out. This is what makes the book such a fantastic read - the detail behind the story, behind who Amy is and how she did it, what she did, was because of the careful amount of time and detail the author put into the story.

The ending! What an ending! I was not expecting that. The last few chapters, practically had me screaming at the characters. Jaw-dropping twist, that's all I'll say to that.

Overall, this was a fantastic read, originally I didn't get the hype behind it, I thought it would be like other books in its genre, and while in some aspects it is, it far exceeds the other books in the genre, because of the all the details I mentioned above.

...Gillian Flynn’s latest novel of psychological suspense will confound anyone trying to keep up with her quicksilver mind and diabolical rules of play. Not that there’s anything underhanded about her intentions: she promises to deliver an account of the troubled marriage of Nick and Amy Dunne, who alternate as narrators, and so she does. The trickery is in the devilish way she tells their story.

Flynn writes bright, clever, cynical sentences. Maybe too many of them in Gone Girl. The same facts and ideas seem to repeat themselves. But that’s a minor gripe in a book that never slacks in tightening the suspense.

The basic questions the mystery asks are these: did the journalist husband murder his well-to-do missing wife or is she setting him up to pay a creepy price? On Flynn’s slick way to reaching the answer, she pulls the rug from under us readers three times. Or was it four?

This American author shook up the thriller scene in 2007 with her debut Sharp Objects, nasty and utterly memorable. Gone Girl, her third novel, is even better – an early contender for thriller of the year and an absolute must read.

Love is the world's infinite mutability: Lies, hatred, murder even, are all knit up in it; it is the inevitable blossoming of its opposites, a magnificent rose smelling faintly of blood.

Tony Kushner, THE ILLUSION

Dedication

To Brett: light of my life, senior andFlynn: light of my life, junior

First words

When I think of my wife, I always think of her head.

Quotations

I don’t know that we are actually human at this point, those of us who are like most of us, who grew up with TV and movies and now the Internet. If we are betrayed, we know the words to say; when a loved one dies, we know the words to say. It we want to play the stud or the smart-ass or the fool, we know the words to say. We are all working from the same dog-eared script.

I'm a big fan of the lie of omission.

I hated Nick for being surprised when I became me.

You are an average, lazy, boring, cowardly, woman-fearing man. Without me, that’s what you would have kept on being, ad nauseam. But I made you into something. You were the best man you’ve ever been with me. And you know it.

Last words

I don't have anything else to add. I just wanted to make sure I had the last word. I think I've earned that.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Golden boy Nick Dunne, brings his socialite wife, Amy, back to live in his hometown on the Mississippi River. She is miserable and on their fifth wedding anniversary she disappears. Soon Nick finds himself lying, and acting inappropriately but continues to claim his innocence with his twin sister at his side.

Haiku summary

Lies disguised as truth/Is she dead or simply gone?/Ask Punch and Judy. (BrileyOC)

On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick's wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?… (more)